Home / Anurans/Kuyruksuz Kurbağalar / Hyla orientalis / Hyla orientalis (=Hyla arborea orientalis) (Oriental Tree Frog, Green Frog / Oriental Ağaç Kurbağası, Ağaç Kurbağası)
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Hyla orientalis (=Hyla arborea orientalis) (Oriental Tree Frog, Green Frog / Oriental Ağaç Kurbağası, Ağaç Kurbağası)

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Hyla orientalis (=Hyla arborea orientalis) (Oriental Tree Frog, Green Frog / Oriental Ağaç Kurbağası, Ağaç Kurbağası)


Hyla orientalis (=Hyla arborea orientalis) (Oriental Tree Frog, Green Frog / Oriental Ağaç Kurbağası, Ağaç Kurbağası) [Male / Erkek] from Seydiler, KASTAMONU – 20.08.2010.

Oriental Tree Frog is a small and delicate frog, reaching a body length of around 5 cm, where females are usually larger than males. Typically, fingers and toes end in wide, disc shaped adhesive pads. Males have a large vocal sac beneath the chin. The dorsum is usually a bright green, sometimes changing to gray, yellowish or blackish, sometimes with dark colored small spots. A dark stripe, which begins in front of the eye, extends through the tympanic membrane, and laterally along flanks to the inguinal area, and there forms a spur-like branch anterodorsally. The belly is whitish or slightly yellowish.

The former race of Hyla arborea orientalis have been revocated and it is currently treated as full species based on both mithochondrial and nuclear DNA analyses recently (Stöck et al., 2008).Oriental Tree Frog is distributed in extremely eastern parts of Europe (e.g. Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova & Ukraine) and also W and N Anatolia.

It is generally quite similar to H. arborea (European Tree Frog) and its closely related H. savignyi (=H. arborea savignyi) (Levantine Tree Frog). It differs from the Levantine Tree Frog  in having relatively shorter hind legs and a spur-like branch of the dark lateral stripe- which begins in front of the eye, extends through the tympanic membrane, and laterally along flanks to the inguinal area-in the inguinal region. Its biology is also quite similar to Levantine tree frog. It is mainly nocturnal, typically vegetation-dwelling amphibian. These frogs spend the daytime hiding in the vegetation near water. Not easy to detect because of its colour changing ability. Feeds on various flying insects and spiders. Goes to water only in the breeding season. Prefers clean and deep waters with much vegetation for breeding. The vocalization of the males is quite strong during the breeding period. Males can be heard calling until August. Typical voice consists of a strident, rapid loud "crak, crak, crak, crak". The walnut sized egg masses are sometimes attached to the vegetation in water, containing 800-1,000 eggs. Breeding season of this species varies depending on the locality and rainfall.

In suitable habitats it occurs in high numbers; however it is locally endangered by water pollution and anthropogenous changes of habitats.

References:1. Göçmen, B. (Unpub. results). The results of herpetological trips.2. Budak, A. & Göçmen, B. (2005). Herpetology. Ege Üniversitesi Fen Fakültesi Kitaplar Serisi, No. 194, Ege Üniversitesi Basimevi, Bornova-Izmir, 226 pp. [2nd Edition, 2008]. 3. Disi, A. M., Modry, D., Necas, P. & Rifai, L. (2001). Amphibians and Reptiles of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Edition Chimaira, 408 pp.  4. Stöck M., Dubey S., Klütsch C., Litvinchuk S.N., Scheidt U., and Perrin N. (2008). Mitochondrial and nuclear phylogeny of circum-Mediterranean tree frogs from the Hyla arborea group. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 49: 1019-1024.


Author Bayram GÖÇMEN
Created on Friday 20 August 2010
Posted on Wednesday 23 February 2011
Tags Kastamonu, TURKEY / TÜRKİYE
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